A Worthwhile Reading List

[offbalance]

erratic0101 posted a list, ranked in order, of books that Britain's Librarians say that people should read before they die. I don't think it's as conclusive as it could be, but there is some good stuff on here (and a lot of dreck, but that's aside from the point.)

I'm italicizing what I've read. If you feel meme-ish, repost it and do the same!

Speaking of Books, there was a post on one community I read today via the NYFA that the New Orleans Public Library is looking for book donations. If you have any you're looking to rid yourself of, it seems like a truly worthy cause to me.



To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I was 9, though. I really should read it again.)

The Bible (Most of it, anyway. While the Old Testament is WAY better than the New, I wasn't altogether impressed, except for Song of Solomon.)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien (The movies were better. WAY better. The problem with Tolkien is that he'll ignore the fact that a giant battle is going on to tell you the history of a rock sitting nearby. Fellowship of the Ring was particularly torturous to get through.)

1984 by George Orwell (Absolutely amazing.)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (When I finally read this, I was amazed at how closely it had been adapted for Theater and film.)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (One of my favorite books of all time.)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (embarrasingly enough, I've never really read this. I should, shouldn't I?)

All Quiet on the Western Front by E M Remarque

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman (I'm partway through book II)

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (I've been trying to get to this one for 2 years)

Tess of the D'urbevilles by Thomas Hardy (tried to read this in 9th grade, and couldn't. I'll have to re-attempt.)

Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne (never the original. I was more of a Madeline/Richard Scary/Just So Stories sort of girl.)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Charlotte was twice the writer Emily thought she was...)

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham (so cute! Read this in 5th grade).

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (this owned my soul in 6th. I barely slept for a week as I plowed through it.)

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (this was absolutely amazing. I just finished it.)

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (I probably will never read this. The subject matter is too upsetting to me.)

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzenhitsyn